Obtaining and characterization tests of lignin-based biodegradable materials

With the increasing population, the amount of waste released to the environment also increases. The vast majority of these wastes are composed of petroleum-based products. Disposing of these wastes poses a serious economic burden as well as threatening human health and ecology. The use of biodegradable materials should be widespread in order to reduce petroleum-based wastes that threaten human health and ecology, and to minimize the economic burden of these wastes. Lignin is a natural phenolic polymer found in the secondary cell walls of plants. After cellulose and hemicellulose, lignin is the most abundant biopolymer in the biosphere and is found in the cell wall. It is an amorphous heteropolymer consisting of three different phenylpropane units linked together and is insoluble in water; all this complicates the degradation of lignin. Lignin, like hemicellulose, begins to degrade at around 180°C under normal conditions. Biodegradable polymers are polymers that are subject to structural breaks in polymer chains, can be minimalized, degraded by sunlight, oxidized or hydrolyzed. Composites are materials that are obtained by bringing together at least two different materials at a macro level and contain the superior properties of the components that compose them. Polymer matrix composites have become one of the engineering construction materials used for different purposes and in different fields. In this thesis, PP, PVA, PLA and CD doped biocomposites were produced with Kraft lignin. In addition to characterization studies with TGA, XRD, SEM, FTIR and DSC, antibacterial properties of these composites were emphasized. It has been understood that the produced biocomposites can be used in industrial areas and are antibacterial.